Box or carton



Aug. 10,1937. N. F. DAVIS ET AL BOX OR CARTON Filed Aug. 20, 1935ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 10, 1937 .c PATENT OFFICE Nathaniel The 'presentrinvention: relates to the manufacture off boxes" orf'carton's' to: beused as temporary containers for-various forms of merchandiseduring'shipment. storage. and, sale.

The-temporary nature of the use to which a large class. of. boxesandcartons are put makes it undesirable to; use anything but the leastexpensive materials and methods in their manufacture:Howevenwherethegoods contained inthe boxes: are" of relativelyheavyinature such as shoes; candy; or'stationery, for example, the boxmustbe strong enough toremain unbroken in shipmentuand' handling inorderto protect the contents thereof, and where-the merchandise is intendedfor theqpersonal use of the purchaser, and: r'eachesihis hands in theoriginal. container, the box must be presentable to the eye. 1Theweakestpoints in the ordinary rectangular carton-or box made out ofcardboard or other form: of paper and'familiarly used incommerceeverywhere Jareits corners,;the meeting lines ofi-the-sides or thebottom with. the ends, these corners beingthe points in the box.at;-which breakage'first occurs in practically all=cases.where themassior' weight. of: the contents causes the failure of the carton intransit or handling, and in' the case oishoeboxes When-thesalesmanremoves the box'fromsa' stackaonthe shelf by in-, serting' hisi fingersinsidethe,, box and pulling upon: me-ena-.-.- The-nextjweakest points,are ordi narily thezends themselves of the box or carton.

Theinvention aims. to strengthen these weak points of: such boxes.orcartons, and aims to do sorwithout increasing mat1eria1ly,.or evenwhile reducing, theycosh of manufacture, at the same time producing; acontainer that presents a neat and finishediaspect to the eye of thepurchaser.

' a-jToithese aims,.the-.inyention comprises'in; its

basic: aspect. a, cardboard box having, integral single thickness sides:and bottom, combined with ends which are made of a pluralityofthicknesses of; one: or more. preferably separate pieces, withthem'aterial forming; the sides and bottom extended and. bentginto theplanes of the ends and secured betweentwo of the thicknesses which formthe. ends. In anampliijled form, the inner .one of the separate piecesforming the, ends is provided: with. tabs which are bent at rightanglesand secured to the insidesurfaces of the bottom and sides, so that thereis a double'thickness of material extending, along the three dihedralangles at each eno..,,,

Other objects of the invention, and the manner in which theyareattained, are asset forth hereinafter. I

"along lines 3, and 5. The tabs 1 tensions of the bottom and sides ofthe box are F. Davis, Contoocook, and Clayton Straw, Henniker, N. H.

Application August'zo, 1935, Serial N0. 37,02

j lfl filai ms. (01329 23) Anillustrative embodiment of the invention isshown in the accompanying drawing in which,--

irrFlg. 1 shows in flat relation the several blanks or parts used inmaking one end of the improved box. 1

Fig. 2 showsin perspective the same parts in readiness for assembly. 1

-.Fig. 3 shows the finished box.

Fig. 4 shows in perspective the parts of a paper-covered box embodyingthe invention features. j

- Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one end of the finishedboxaccording toFig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a. similar view of another alternative construction.

Fig. 7; is a similar view of another alternative construction which isshown in development in Fig.8.-

The material of the box may be any suitable or desiredflexible materialhaving the necessary attributes. of similar construction. The main orbody blank .I is; formedof this material in the needed or desired shape,and dimensions to form the bottom and two opposite sides of the box orcarton, the 2 be'folde'd. inward at right-angles to the respectivenfacesL to which they are attached, along scoredi or'creased lines 9,right-angle Vs being cut ,outat H in usual manner in line withfoldflin'es 3-, 5, to avoid overlapping of the tabs with each. other andpermit their lying in a common plane when the box is folded up.

The end ofthe box is composed of two sepayr-ate-end-portions I3, I 5,comprising respectively the inner and the outer end portions. These maybe made of stock of the same or different strength from: the mainportion. While the outer endportion I5 of Figs. 1 to 3 is a rectangle ofexactly the-size and shape to be had by the end of the .finished box,the inner end-portion I3 is of approximately this same'area plus theaddition on its bottom and twoside edges of tabs IT, IS, laid off ,fromthe .end-portion proper by scored or are secured by gluing or otherwiserespectively to the inside surfaces of the bottom 23 and thetwo.sides.25 formed as the blank I is bent up formed as ex- Preferablyboth ends of the box are d then bent inward into a common plane andsimilarly secured to the outer surface of the inner I end-portion I3,and the rectangular outer endportion I5 thereupon attached to theoutward surfaces of these same tabs 1, hiding the latter and giving theend of the box a smooth and finished appearance. The space between theadjacent surfaces of the inner and outer end-portions I3 and I5, may beleft empty to receive a ticket or tag, or a part thereof while theremainder of the tag is bent down over the outside of the end to remainexposed, or to receive a portion of the top or cover of the box, (notshown,) or may be pressed into contact and glued together. Or the threetabs 1 will be made of sufficient length to meet and butt togetherwithout overlapping, so that they will completely fill the space betweenthe inner and outer end-portions I3, I5.

The marked advantage of this construction is that there are twothicknesses of the component cardboard, pasteboard, or other material atthe three corners or edges, at the sides and bottom where the planes ofthe sides and bottom intersect the plane of the end, so that thesevulnerable points are reenforced by being made of two'plies instead ofone as usual hitherto. Additionally, the strain of resisting a blowdelivered by the contents of the box in a direction to knock out the endof the box is exerted lengthwise of the surfaces of the innerend-portion I3 and of the main or body blank I which are attached toeach other. Thisis an important gain wherever materials made of paperstock are used for making the box, as these materials are practicallyalways of laminated construction, and in the widely used. former type ofbox comprising merely the outer end-portion I5 glued to the outwardfaces of the tabs I of blank I a blow from within against the end of thebox frequently caused the surface layer of the glued-together area ofthe end-portion or the tabs to strip off and release the end, because asubstantial portion of the force of the blow acts at right-angles to thesurfaces involved in a direction to tear them apart. In the invention,however, the action of this component is reversed, because the innerend-portion I3 is inside of the tabs 1, while additionally the integralextensions formed by the tabs I 1 and I9 transmit the strain in thedirection in which the material is strongest, namely along the surfacesinvolved.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the general principles involved when it isdesired to provide the box with a coating or finish of white or coloredpaper to improve its appearance. This outer coating is applied to thetwo side-portions 25 of the blank I in usual manner before bending thelatter, being wrapped around what will be the top edges of the sides 25as indicated at 21, and extending to 29 under the bottom. The outerend-portion I50 is prepared by pasting the covering I521 over its outersurface, with extensions of the covering beyond the top and bottom edgesof this endportion. After the two end-portions are in place with thetabs 1 included between them, the top extension of the covering I52 isfolded down within the box and pasted to the inward surface of innerend-portion I30, while the corresponding lower extension of covering I52is pasted to the bottom of the box. As thus applied, the covering aidsin compelling the outer end-portion to con- .form to the surface of thetabs 1 when the end of the box is bulged outwardly by a blow fromwithin, thereby impeding the stripping of the material where thesurfaces of the outer endportion and the tabs are glued together. The

tabs at same method of covering is of course applicable to all forms ofthe invention.

Fig. 6 shows an alternative construction differing from that of Fig. 1only in that the inside and outside end-portions are formed in one pieceand folded along the line 3I which forms the top edge of the end of thebox when completed. Figs. '7 and 8 show an alternative constructionrelated to Fig. 2, differing therefrom in that the plies forming theinsideand outside end-portion are integral with the body of the box,being in effect anextension of the bottom of the box replacing the tab 1on the bottom in Fig. 2. The extension is folded along the line 33 whicheventually becomes the top edge of the end of the completed box, thetabs I9 being glued to the inside surfaces of the sides 25 as in thepreviously described forms of the invention, the tabs 1 being gluedbetween the proximate surfaces of the inside endportion 35 and outsideend -portion 31 after folding along the line 33, and the additional tabs39, 4|, respectively on the sides and end of the ply forming the outsideend-portion 31 being glued to the outside surfaces of the sides 25 andbottom 23 respectively. In this form, the side corners are of three-plystructure and the bottom corners of two-ply structure, giving a veryhigh degree of strength. a r 3 An important feature and advantage of theimproved construction is that in its several forms it lends itself withgreat facility to automatic manufacture on standard types of box-makingmachines with very slightadaptationsof the ma..- chines, since theentire box may be assembled into finished form during a' single cycle oroperation, thereby making the box' cheap' and practicable tomanufacture.

' While we have illustrated and describedcertain forms in which theinventionmay. be embodied, we are aware that many modifications may bemade therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, we donot wish to be limited to the particular forms shown, or to the detailsof construction thereof, but

What we do claim is:

1.'A box made out of cardboard or. the like comprising in combinationabody-portion forming the bottom and two sides and also forming tabs atthe extremities of at least two of the latter faces, an end-portionadhesively secured to the inward surfaces of the tabs after the latterhave been bent inward into a common plane, and a second end-portionadhesively secured to the outward surfaces of such tabs when thus bentone of such end-portions having flanges bent at right angles andadhesively secured to such faces.

2. A box made out of cardboard or the like into a common plane, theend-portion itself having flanges bent at right-angles and adhesivelysecured to the sides of the body-portion, and a second end-portionadhesively secured to the outward surfaces of the tabs when thus bent.

3. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising in combination abody-portion forming the bottom and two sides and also forming theextremities of thesefaces, an endportion adhesively secured .to theinward surfaces of the tabs after the latter have beenbent inward into acommon plane, the end portion itself having flanges bent at right-anglesand adhesively secured to the bottom and sides of the body-portion, anda second end-portion adhesively secured to the outward surfaces of thetabs when thus bent.

4. An open-top cardboard box having integral single-thickness sides andbottom and separate plural-thickness ends, with the material of thesides and bottom extended and bent into the planes of the ends andadhesively secured between two of the thicknesses of the ends, and thematerial of the inner end piece extended and bent into the planes of thesides and bottom and adhesively secured to the sides and bottom.

5. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising in combination abody-portion forming the bottom and two sides and also forming tabs atthe extremities of at least two of these faces, an end-portionadhesively secured to the inward surfaces of the tabs after the latterhave been bent inward into a common plane, the endportion itself havingflanges bent at right-angles and adhesively secured to the sides of thebodyportion, and a second end-portion integral with the firstend-portion adhesively secured to the outward surfaces of the tabs whenthus bent.

6. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising a single blank cutand bent to form the bottom, two sides, and a two-ply end, the latterforming an integral extension of the bottom, the sides having tabs attheir extremities, one ply of the end being secured to the inwardsurfaces of the tabs after the latter have been bent into a commonplane, such ply having flanges bent at right-angles and secured to thebox sides, and the other ply being secured to the outward surfaces ofthe tabs.

7. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising a single blank cutand bent to form the bottom, two sides, and a two-ply end, the latterforming an integral extension of the bottom, the sides having tabs attheir extremities, one ply of the end being secured to the inwardsurfaces of the tabs after the latter have been bent into a commonplane, such ply having flanges bent at right-angles and secured to thebox sides, and the other ply being secured to the outward surfaces ofthe tabs when bent as stated and also having flanges secured to theoutside surfaces of the sides and bottom.

8. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising in combination abody-portion forming the bottom and two sides and also forming tabs atthe extremities of at least two of the latter faces, an insideend-portion and an outside endportion adhesively secured to therespective surfaces of such tabs after the latter have been bent into acommon plane, with the material of one end-portion extended and bentaround the angle formed between one of these faces and its tab andadhesively secured to such face to provide a two-ply structure at suchangle.

9. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising a single blank cutand bent to form the bottom, two sides, and a two-ply end, the latterforming an integral extension of the bottom, the sides having tabs attheir extremities, one ply of the end being secured to the inwardsurfaces of the tabs after the latter have been bent into a commonplane, and the other ply being secured to the outward surfaces of thetabs, at least one of such plies having flanges bent at right-angles andsecured to the box sides.

10. A box made out of cardboard or the like comprising a single blankcut and bent to form the bottom, two sides, and a two-ply end, thelatter forming an integral extension of the bottom, the sides havingtabs at their extremities to which tabs at least one ply of the end isadhesively secured after the tabs have been bent into a common plane, atleast one ply having flanges bent at right-angles and adhesively securedto the box sides beyond the tabs.

NATHANIEL F. DAVIS. CLAYTON STRAW.

